Rio Ferdinand was not at all pleased with Frank Lebouef’s criticism of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive skills.
The BT Sport pundit suggested the former France international was a hypocrite and claimed he was “not the best” defensively in his heyday.
“Are you winding me up? It’s disrespectful, some people get too disrespectful,” the former Manchester United star told YouTube channel FIVE (via Express). “Leboeuf defensively wasn’t the best by the way, so he has one cheek.”
This follows a spate of criticism leveled at the Liverpool fullback in light of his less than inspiring start to the 2022/23 campaign in which he has yet to record a single assist in all competitions.
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To be completely objective, our No. 66 has hardly been flawless on the baseline when it comes to his defensive duties.
That said, to claim that Alexander-Arnold is defensively at “championship level” is absolutely outrageous and fails to take into account the impact of Jordan Henderson’s previous absence from Liverpool’s first XI through injury.
Sadly, it appears the Liverpool man has become an easy target for those looking for easy clicks and will continue to come under intense scrutiny regardless of when he rediscovers his best form.
EOTK Insider Opinion: Trent will never win for England as long as Gareth Southgate is manager
